Rookie Watch: Anaheim Ducks

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Each Day until September 15th TPS will take a look at one team from the East and one team from the West and spotlight a few rookies to watch for this season. Today in the West it’s the Anaheim Ducks.

AHL at 19

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It's happened before so it's not exactly ground breaking but with a couple of NCAA players recently signing contracts to apparently play in the AHL as 19-year-olds, is this the start of a new trend?

And more importantly, is it a wise move for NHL teams to make?

USA WJ Camp Opens Today

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While Canada has wrapped up their WJC camp and named it's 22-man roster, the American squad is opening their first ever 3-day December camp today in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

The 30-man camp features a plethora of talented players including 22 NHL drafted players and 5 others who will be eligible for that distinction for the first time in June of 2010.

But will they be good enough to challenge for a medal let alone contend for the gold?

Top 5 Tuesday:Americans On The Rise

USA hockey is holding it's Olympic team summer camp right now and it's clear with the 2010 team that youth will be served in Vancouver. Players like Patrick Kane, Erik Johnson and Kyle Okposo were born in 1988, the same year that elder statesman Mike Modano was drafted. Here's 5 players who might be ready for the 2014 games in Sochi Russia. You should see most of them at the World Junior Championship in Saskatoon/Regina this year and can catch glimpses of them with their respective junior and college programs, as well as hear from them this year on The Pipeline Show.

5. Zach Budish-Minnesota Golden Gophers
He missed almost all of his final high school season in Edina, Minnesota but was still a 2nd round pick of the Nashville Predators. Budish is a beast at 6.03, 230 pounds who will play for his home state Gophers this season. He gives the U.S.A some beef who can skate up front. A more skilled version of Dustin Byfuglien might not be ready for prime time in 2014 but is certainly one to watch at this year's WJC.

4. John Carlson-London Knights
This is one guy I think will end up being a absolute steal in a few years. The Washington Capitals snagged him 27th in the first round of 2008. Last year with the Knights he quarterbacked their pp and put up 16 goals, 76 points in just 59 games. Carlson is close to being physically ready to play pro, and has 16 games of AHL hockey under his belt, including helping Hershey win the Calder Cup championship this spring. Providing he doesn't make the caps this year, he'll be team USA's top blueliner in Saskatchewan. At their summer camp he scored a power play goal along with 7 assists in 6 games.

3. Kyle Palmieri-Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Will USA hockey forgive and forget? They kicked Palmieri off their U-18 team last year for off ice issues. Some say he wouldn't rat out teammates, but the official reason has never been revealed. This year he'll attend Notre Dame instead of playing in Guelph where some thought he might end up after being turfed from the team last year. In 4 plus years, I'm sure USA hockey will welcome him back into the fold, after all he was at their World Junior summer camp. At 5.10 and 190 pounds he was nearly a point per game player with the U18 team while putting up 51 pim.

2. John Moore-Kitchener Rangers
John Moore and John Carlson have 2 things in common. The same first name and the potential to be the guys in their drafts that makes people wonder how they slipped so far. Moore was drafted by Columbus 21st in 2009, right before where the Oilers were hoping to draft him, if they could have snagged another first round pick. He was slated to play for Colorado College, but is heading north to Kitchener and might instantly be the best skating defenceman in the entire CHL. After 2 years in the USHL it will be interesting to see if he can have the success that Carlson had in his first OHL season.

1. Jordan Schroeder-Minnesota Golden Gophers
We started with a Gopher on this list and we'll end with one. Schroeder will certainly have plenty of experience wearing the stars and stripes should he be on the radar for the Olympics in 4 plus years. The offensive dynamo will represent the States for the 3rd time this year in Saskatoon/Regina. The 5.08, 175 pound centre might be small but he oozes skill with 45 points in 35 games as a freshman with Minnesota last year. At the summer evaluation camp for team USA's world junior team he racked up 14 points in 6 games. The Canucks grabbed him 22nd overall last June and in 4 years he might be playing on a line with fellow prospect Cody Hodgson, as well as getting set to face Hodgson on the international stage again.

Tune in tonight as we may speak to one of the above players, as well as Oilers forward Patrick O'Sullivan, Air Force head coach Frank Serratore, and Jaden Schwartz who helped Canada win the Ivan Hlinka tournament. As well as BAD ASS trivia and your questions to the ST. ALBERT SOURCE FOR SPORTS inbox, pipeup@thepipelineshow.com.

Top 5 Tuesday: Draft Day Sleepers

Here are 5 players who might not be getting a ton of hype right now, but could turn out to be sleepers in a few years.

5. Igor Bobkov-What's a Millard list without a goalie on it. Bobkov was named the top tender at the U-18 tournament in Fargo. He's quite large at 6.04 and 192 pounds and gets around the crease quite well. He's projected to be a mid round pick, but some think he's the best pipeman to come out of Russia in years.

4. Tomas Tatar-According to an interview with Tatar, the Slovakian star was asked if he was gay during a combine interview. Taking a chance on the small but ultra skilled Slovak could certainly make one team happy down the road. He's 5.11, 176 lbs, plays with a ton of intensity and has crazy sick hands. Right now he's a second rounder on most lists.

3. Sami Vatanan-While Ryan Ellis is getting all the attention when it comes to small but slick blueliners, this Fin is fine as well. Vatanan is ranked as the 5th best offensive defenceman by ISS, but they have him as a 3rd rounder. Recently Guy said an NHL D-man has to have 2 out of 3 when it comes to size, skating and smarts. Vatanan doesn't have size at 5.09, but he's a great skater, a heads up player and has a good shot. He's also a horse, playing almost 30 minutes a night for Finland at the U-18's. He's the same size as Ellis and only 10 pounds lighter, is a better skater. Why is he ranked 70 spots behind the Windsor Spitfire? Some team might look brilliant in 5 years with this guy.

2. Zach Budish-A massive forward who would have played high school hockey if he didn't suffer an ACL injury and miss the whole year. He's almost 6.03 and tips the Toledos at 230 pounds. His knee has to be a question mark and his development curve as well after not playing all year. He's been compared to Keith Tkachuk and most had him as a first rounder before his injury. I don't see him slipping past the 2nd round, if he makes it that far.

1. Kyle Palmieri-Yes he's rated as a first rounder, but late in the opening round. Palmieri could be the Zach Parise of this draft, a guy many teams pass on who turns into a pint sized stud down the road. Some have compared his playing style to Parise as well. He was kicked out of the USA development program after a tournament in Sweden. Some say he wouldn't rat out his teammates who got to know a few local ladies. If that's true, and I'm an NHL G.M. it sounds like a character guy to me. He's 5.10, 190 with blazing speed and put up 15 goals and 15 assists in 33 games this year.

Wednesday Re-Set

Last night on The Pipeline Show...

We began the program with a bang. Matt Gilroy is a 24-year-old senior with the Boston University Terriers and is being followed by NHL scouts who want to get his under contract next month much the same way Fabian Brunnstrom was pursued this time last year.

Gilroy's story is extremely interesting including chapters that could be called "Why I Turned Down the NHL", "No scholarship, no problem!" and "Tribute to Lost Brother". Last night Gilroy talked about it all but we still had time to talk about the NCAA national Tournament and winning the Hockey East title too.

From there we couldn't connect with Dave Starman so Dean and I decided to go through our respective NCAA Hockey National Tournament brackets. We'll post them here before the tournament starts on Friday just so we have documented proof of our prognosticating prowess.

It was then time for another monthly installment of the ISS Draft Countdown where head scout Mike Oke joins us to discuss the newest release from Internation Scouting Services. Last night we discussed teamless Kyle Palmieri, The World U18s, Cape Breton netminder Olivier Roy, Zach Kassian (pictured) of the Peterborough Petes and Brandon forward Scott Glennie.

We also chatted with Edmonton Oil Kings GM Bob Green. We talked about the team's plight in their series against the mighty Calgary Hitmen, got updates on some key injuries and discussed the stellar play of netminder Torrie Jung and if there was optimism he may return as a 20-year-old. Green also gave us some insight into the WHL's Bantam draft which will be held in Edmonton for the next several years.

Finally we ran some exclusive interviews with a handful of Hitmen including 50-goal scorer Joel Broda, defencemen Paul Postma and Alex Plante as well as 100-point man Brett Sonne.

If you missed it live, you can click the archive... HERE!

Top 5 Tuesday:Small in size-super skilled

Martin St. Louis-undrafted, Derek Roy-2nd round 2001, Theo Fleury-8th round 1987.

These 3 guys are all pint size players who did and are doing great things in the NHL. St. Louis is 5.09 and is a past Stanley Cup champ and Hart Trophy winner, Buffalo's Derek Roy who stands 5.08 scored 32 goals and 81 points last year and is one his way to another 30 plus goal season right now, and Theo Fleury won a cup with the Flames, and racked up 1088 points in 1084 games, while playing a bigger than his 5.06 height. Here are 5 vertically challenged players for the upcoming draft who could emulate the above 3 and other small players who are rising above the short comings others might think will keep them down.

5. Chris DeSousa-5.09, 191 pounds-Niagra-OHL
DeSousa has proven he can score with 33 goals in 67 games this year for the Ice Dogs. Last year he had 23 in 64 games. The left winger is a shoot first ask questions and pass later type of guy with only 18 assists this year but he's not afraid of tough areas. DeSousa racked up 100 plus penalty minutes for the second straight season. DeSousa has fast hands and can dart into open areas giving him space to light the lamp. ISS doesn't have him ranked in their top 195 for this June, but Martin St. Louis wasn't drafted either after 4 playing 4 years of NCAA hockey with Vermont.

4. Garrett Mitchell-5.10, 180 pounds-Regina-WHL
He doesn't score a ton of points, just 5 goals and 10 helpers in 71 games with Regina this year, but he's as tough as nails and makes it hard for the other teams top players. Mitchell played on a line with a couple of Europeans this year and by all accounts was the protector with 140 penalty minutes. The hometown Regina product fought 9 times last year and 14 times this year. While 2008 first rounder Jordan Eberle and 2010 draft prospect Jordan Weal get most of the attention when people think of Regina you can bet other WHLers can remember games against Regina because of Mitchell's hard checking style. ISS has the good skater ranked 90th for this June.

3. Toni Rajala-5.09, 163 pounds-Ilves-Finland
Once thought to be a top ten pick for this year's draft, Rajala didn't exactly light it up at the World Juniors in Ottawa. He did shoot alot leading Finland with 23 shots, but finished just twice adding one assist in 6 games. But let's remember he was a young player in a 19 year old tournament. Rajala has terrific speed, a great shot but some say he's to much of a perimeter player. Rajal has split this year between the top Junior A team in Ilves Tampere where he was a point per game player and the senior team. Some say he's the most talented Fin in years. ISS has his ranked 39 which could make him a second round steal.

2. Kyle Palmieri-5.10, 190 pounds-No Where
Palmieri is a very interesting prospect. He was a member of the U.S. National program until getting kicked off a few weeks back. Some say it had to do with an issue while in Sweden for a tournament. So for now, Palmieri waits for the NHL draft and hopes that not playing right now won't hurt him. One scout told me he doesn't think it will, as they've seen him play already. But you have to wonder about why he was kicked off and if his reputation takes a hit from it. TPS spoke to Palmieri while he was a member of Team USA, you can here the interview here. As for his on ice play, Palmieri has been compared to Zach Parise which should make every NHL team thinking of passing on him because of his size reconsider. ISS has him ranked 21st.

1. Ryan Ellis-5.09-183 pounds-Windsor
Hockey Canada took an extra blueliner to the World Junior Championship because they weren't sure about Ellis could play a regular shift. Their fears were dismissed pretty quickly though. Aside from running the power play extremely well, Ellis was so strong positionally that he didn't become a liability. He's a fantastic skater and his shot looks like it's coming from a guy who's 6.04. Ellis was key in Jordan Eberle's tying goal against Russia doing a great job keeping the puck in at the point. His 22 goals and 89 points in 59 games with Windsor were 3rd among draft eligible players in the CHL behind only Evander Kane and John Tavares. Some think he could turn into a Brian Campbell type player. ISS has him ranked as the 4th best defenceman and 13th overall.

3 Players Removed From US-NTDP

Rumors from earlier this week that 3 players have been kicked out of the US National Team Development Program have now officially been confirmed to The Pipeline Show from a source within USA Hockey. Goaltender Will Yanakeff, forward Stuart Higgins and projected 2009 1st round NHL pick Kyle Palmieri have all been booted off their respective teams for "breaking team rules".

Palmieri appeared on The Pipeline Show just last week. His CHL rights are held by the Guelph Storm and he has a verbal committment with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish should he choose the pursue the NCAA route. NHL sources have indicated to me that their belief is that the Zach Parise-like forward will head north to the OHL for next season.

Yanakeff and Higgins both played for the U17 team and are not eligible for the NHL draft this year. Yanakeff is slated to join Michigan State two seasons from now, His CHL rights are currently held by the Barrie Colts so the 6'2 goalie has options to consider.

Higgins is a small forward who has indicated that he will play for the Maine Black Bears beginning in 2010-11. He was a 12th round selection by the Oshawa Generals of the OHL.

(thanks to Brock Otten of OHL Prospects for supplying the OHL rights and draft info)

Wednesday Reset

Just a heads up if you missed Tuesday night's show, as Guy says, if you missed it live, click the archive.

We started off with our opening face off debate. Guy and I took sides on whether the Oilers should have given up a first round pick for a top forward. Should Sam Gagner get the Robert Nilsson treatment of being a healthy scratch. Who the better 2010 draft eligible prospect is between Regina's Jordan Weal or Prince George's Brett Connolly. Should the NHL go to 1 minute power plays in overtime, an experiment the AHL has used this year, and finally who will come out on top if Calgary and Vancouver should meet in the WHL final. As I type this, I'm watching the Giants dismantle Tri City, however the Americans are without stud goaltender Chet Pickard because of a concussion. It also doesn't help when you score on yourself, as Americans D-men Brett Plouffe and Riley McIntosh did in the 2nd period of this one. Speaking of goals, if you didn't see the ridiculous performance from Medicine Hat Tigers forward Tyler Ennis on the weekend, go right now to the Tigers website and watch their plays of the week. The number one goal is one of the nicest individual efforts I've seen this year.

Our first guest last night was a rising prospect for the 2009 draft, Kyle Palmieri from the U.S. National development team. TPS has heard Zach Parise as a comparison from more than one scout, and it just so happens that he's from New Jersey. Where's he headed next year, check out the link below to find out.

From there we spoke with another potential draftee for this June. Phillip Samuelsson of the USHL's Chicago Steel. He's the son of Ulf and the property of the Edmonton Oil Kings, but it sounds like he's headed down the college route. Is Phillip a chip off the old block? (hopefully without the hit on Cam Neely) You can listen for yourself.

The top of the hour brought us the saving grace for the Edmonton Oil Kings. Goaltender Torrie Jung has been nothing short of spectacular for the 2nd year team and spoke about the current playoff run they are on. We also chatted with Jung about his future with Tampa Bay.

Bad Ass trivia was split with Guy's flaming hot/not and my fantasy pick up as well as few other notes about prospect hockey.

We then hit the AJHL thanks to Spruce Grove assistant coach Ryan Marsh. The Saints are one of top teams in the country and their captain is heading to New Hampshire. Spruce Grove earned a bye in the first round of the AJHL playoffs which began last weekend. Marsh also talked to us about The Hockey Program at Vimy Ridge Academy and Donnan Schools.

Finally, we had some bonus time last night before Corey Graham took over with the post game show, and had the chance to run and interview Guy and I did a while back with hall of fame forward Ron Francis.

You catch all the interviews listed above by heading to The Pipeline Show website.